[size=150]Welcome to Diatribe[/size]NZ Live Action Role Playing (LARP) Community

Welcome to the Diatribe forum, New Zealand’s home for larp discussion.

What is larp?
Live Action Role Playing (larp) is an activity where participants improvise the roles of characters in a fictional situation. There are many varied types of larp, and at Diatribe we support and encourage all of them.

Murder mystery evenings are an example of one type of larp, and games where players fight with soft foam weapons are another. What they all have in common is taking on roles and physically playing them out without a script. Sometimes you write your own character to play, and other times you are given one. Some larps involve a lot of costuming, makeup, set-dressing and props, and others rely more on the players’ imaginations. Some larps are purely for fun and laughs, and others involve more serious or dramatic roleplaying. There may be a lot of rules, or none. Some larps are one-off events, others are series of events in a continuous setting. Larps can be in any genre, from historical to modern psychological thrillers to futuristic, and can involve any amount of social intrigue or physical action. Some are very small, with only a handful of people, and others have thousands of people. Anyone can play in larps, and our community has people of all ages and from all walks of life. The largest larps in New Zealand so far have had around 160 participants.

What is Diatribe?
Diatribe is an internet forum for the discussion of larp. On an internet forum, anyone in the world can post their thoughts and have them read by all. Whether you are already involved in running or playing larps or just interested in larp, you’re very welcome here. This is not a closed community, it is a pubic forum where lots of people happen to know each other through playing together at larps. You don’t have to be in New Zealand to post, but the discussion here mostly focuses on larps based in New Zealand.

Who runs Diatribe?
Diatribe is a project of the New Zealand Live Action Role Playing Society (NZLARPS), and is managed by the society’s national committee. If you have a problem and want to talk to someone you should either post in the Support forum or contact the administration user DiatribeAdmin. This is a user that allows multiple people to moderate and administrate this forum through a single logon.

What is NZLARPS?
The New Zealand Live Action Role Playing Society Incorporated (NZLARPS) is a registered non-profit organisation created by larpers to promote and support larp in New Zealand. Members of NZLARPS receive many benefits, and NZLARPS also helps people to run larps. Diatribe is a project of NZLARPS, meaning that the society effectively owns Diatribe and supports it financially. The society’s national and regional committees are elected democratically annually.

How do I get into larp?
Sign up for a larp event you like the look of, and go play. Don’t be shy, most larps are eager for new players and will be more than happy to have you. You can find a list of upcoming events on the top right of the NZLARPS homepage. You can also check out our guide to kiwi larp, which has descriptions and photos of New Zealand larp events.

It pays to read any materials the larp has on offer in order to get the hang of things, but don’t be intimidated if there’s a lot of material and you can’t absorb it all at first. Just learn what you can about the larp then figure the rest out as you play. Some larps have requirements for costume or other equipment. Don’t be put off by this, they’ll be happy to help point you in the right direction for acquiring gear, and may be able to lend you gear or recommend a cheap approach for trying the larp out.

You should also consider joining NZLARPS. Members get discounts on a lot of larp events and equipment, so if you attend a few games each year then being a member will save you money. Being a member also gives you a vote in how the society is run.

How do I find my way around Diatribe?
An internet forum can be a bit intimidating if you’re new. Rest assured that Diatribe is full of friendly people that are more than happy to help you find your feet. Don’t be put off if you read arguments between some of the posters, that’s just part of the normal robust discussion on forums of this sort.

Diatribe is divided into a number of sub-forums that focus on different aspects of larp in NZ. On the home page these forums are listed down the page, with descriptions of each one. When you click on a forum name, you’ll go to a list of the topics that are being discussed in that forum. The most recently replied-to topics are at the top. Feel free to browse around, reply to topics that interest you, and start new topics. Don’t worry if a moderator moves a topic you start to somewhere else, it’s normal until you get the hang of where things go.

A lot of discussion happens here in the “General discussion” forum, it’s the catch-all for discussion of larp that doesn’t fit into any other forum. There are more specific forums for discussing physical gear, ideas for new larps, and the larp society.

The “Chit-chat” forum is an anything-goes forum where we discuss anything that isn’t larp. A great first place to post on Diatribe is the “Introduce yourself” topic in the Chit-chat forum, where you can tell the other posters about yourself and your interest in larp, and read about other people who post here.

Further down you’ll find a list of forums for the main centres of New Zealand. These forums are good places to post to announce or discuss larps in your area.

In the “Games” section you’ll find a list of forums for specific larps and larp-related projects. These forums are the ideal place to post if you’re interested in playing in a specific larp.

At the bottom of the index is the “Support” forum. This is where you should post if you have problems using Diatribe, or suggestions on how it could be improved.

Diatribe also has a number of hidden forums, which you can only see if you’ve been given access. These forums are used to organise events, coordinate groups of larpers, and discuss NZLARPS society business. To see the groups that are available, go to the Usergroups area in your User Control Panel, where you can join a group. If the group’s leader approves then you’ll be able to view any hidden forums associated with the group. If you want a new hidden forum, please ask DiatribeAdmin to create it.

What are the policies about posting?
Post away and have fun. Try to post in the appropriate forum, in an on-topic and constructive fashion. Respect the decisions of the administrators. Don’t make attacks against other posters. Don’t use sexist, racist, homophobic or transphobic language. Don’t post anything illegal under NZ law or encourage illegal behaviour. Don’t post irrelevant images as they can be annoying. We don’t censor swearing but try not to go overboard.

I hope you enjoy your stay here at Diatribe, let me know if you need any help.